The present invention refers to a ball bearing, and particularly to a cage or separator for the bearing and more particularly to a cage or separator made of interconnected, ridge shaped ring parts.
Federal Republic of Germany Patent No. 925 203 discloses such a cage. It is comprised of two ring parts, which are formed of sheet metal, with pocket sections for the balls formed on each ring part. The two ring parts are connected by riveting. However, they can also be connected by welding or by the development on the ring parts of holding sections which, after being bent over, grip around the other ring part. Particularly for small ball bearings, the manufacture of these shaped and stamped parts cannot be effected with the required accuracy at acceptable expense. The ring parts can become readily twisted with respect to each other in the circumferential direction due to inaccuracies in manufacture. The balls may thereby become jammed in the pockets. Higher friction then results, which may lead to rapid failure of the bearing. Furthermore, protruding edges on the cage parts can also cause damage to the balls.